In my non-expert opinion, I think the perfume you wear says lot about you. How long have you worn it? Do you switch by season? Do you switch by relationships? It's amazing how you can recall where you were when you smell a fragrance of the past, or, at least I seem to have that super power.

I'm not one to keep wearing the same fragrance over and over. I like to try new scents when the bottle runs out versus going to pick up the same one, season after season.

Love spell from Victoria's Secret reminds me of high school. It reminds me of my senior year of high school where I would buy the lotion and body spray and spray everything with it. My room, my hair and my gym bag for volleyball. Luckily for everyone, it wasn't that potent.

Givenchy very irresistible reminds me of my junior year of college when I lived in townhomes at Kent. I owned the perfume for a few days until I realized it must've fallen in the trash can. Still annoyed by that.

When I first dated the BF, I remember "looking for something in his medicine cabinet" and found quite the interesting selection of skunked colognes. First, there was a bottle of Joop!, yes that Joop!, from 1999 and he was apparently keeping it for some unknown reason. There was also a more recent bottle of Curve, then Acqua di gio and then finally Jean Paul Gaultier LE MALE. He still wears LE MALE and will switch it up with another one but he finally tossed the skunked Joop! a few years ago.

After a full seven days in Riviera Maya and no social media, I'm back in the city of Cleveland. Oh, how nice it was to be away a week. I left my phone at home, like I said I would, and only sent out a few last-minute tweets at 6 a.m. before we left and only logged onto Facebook once. I didn't check anything but just posted a quick update to say I'd arrived in Mexico with my friends.

We had a blast. We had perfect weather - 90 and sunny with only a little rain mixed in for no more than an hour. Our hotel was clean, the food was delicious and the it wasn't at capacity, which meant no major lines at bars for drinks.

I loved that my biggest decision was, "Which pool do you want to start off at today?" and "Should I drink a mojito, miami vice or pina colada?"

So, here's our week in pictures with funny captions by me.

We went ziplining

His face is priceless AND he's afraid of heights.

﻿

We swam in a fresh water cave.

We visited Tulum.

We swam in the ocean.

Boys proved you can do a push up and drink out of the straw at the same time.

We compared calf sizes.

The boys wrestled on a kid's toy and got yelled at by the lifeguards.

We go fishing after our girlfriend/wife asks us to go with someone reputable instead of the random guy who approaches you with a boat called "Tequila Sunrise" or "Poverty Sucks."

We drank too long in the hot tub without remembering to rehydrate ourselves with water.

For most of this week, I've been having a similar conversation with my coworkers and friends and so has the BF.

Coworker: Are you excited for vacation?
Me: Wondering how I couldn't be anything BUT excited, "Of course I'm excited."
Coworker: Do you think you will get engaged?
Me: Speechless....."Uh.....no."

Friend: "I bet you are so excited for vacation this week."
Me: "Of course. How couldn't I be?"
Friend: "Do you think the BF will propose?"
Me: "Um....no"

Manicurist: "Do you have any plans this weekend?"
Me: "Yes, I'm actually leaving for Mexico this weekend. I'm taking a whole week off with my boyfriend and another couple."
Manicurist: "Well, that will be fun."
Me: "I'm really looking forward to it."
Manicurist: "How long have you been with that boyfriend of yours?"
Me: "Four years."
Manicurist: "I wonder if he will propose....."
Me: Smile and shrug because I'm not about to get into my explanation with the nice manicurist.
Manicurist: "Well, do you?"

BF: In the kitchen earlier this week, "People at work have asked me if I'm proposing to you in Mexico."
Me: "Yeah, I've been getting the same stuff."

Do you see a pattern developing?

I'm not quite sure what a week in Mexico says about getting engaged but everyone seems to have it on their minds. Everyone. Except my mom. She hasn't said anything about it.

Here's to sun, relaxation and alcoholic drinks with little umbrellas by the pool. For seven whole days.

How could I forget about the teen drama known as Gossip Girl set in New York City! I mean, when it first came out I remember making fun of my friend, Erin, for watching it. She would tell me, "Allison, it's not a teen show. There are teenagers in it but these Gossip kids put the Dawson's Creek gang to shame."

So, one night I tuned it and was hooked ever since. Yesterday marked the fourth season premiere and the second time my friend her season premiere party.

With our vacation coming up this week, I didn't over book myself with evening events, knowing I need to tie up things at work before I go and want to make sure I get in every last-chance workout I can get in.

However, I wasn't going to miss Coney dogs, Eiffel tower cookies and goodie bags to kick off a week.

Oh oh! It's September and you know what that means, don't you? Football, sweaters, leggings, boots and the start of my favorite TV shows.

All summer I've been dealing with reality TV and was able to catch up on Glee since I didn't start watching it until mid season.

Shows I'll be dvr'ing religiously:

Oprah - No laughing people. I get all my great ideas from Oprah and her guests. I've read fabulous books, found some favorite things and saw Charice as a child star before she blew up with the help of the big O.

Big Love - I've watched this since it started four seasons ago. The last season ended with Bill outing all the wives to the whole city. While everyone basically suspected they were polygamists, they are now out in the open. Let the chaos begin!

How to Make it in America - I love HBO shows and am the only person who doesn't watch True Blood. (I know, I know, I started to watch a few episodes and then lost interest.) BUT, I didn't lose interest with this one mostly because of who the lead actor is....hello Bryan Greenberg.

so cute, right?

This show is about a cute boy named Ben, who is an aspiring clothing designer for his label, Crisp, and has Cam as his BFF and sidekick as they take you through what it's like starting a clothing line in New York City. The season ended with Cam and Ben retrieving their t-shirts and making their Japan delivery. Will Cam get caught for blowing up the truck? Will Ben hook up again with Rachel or will she date that weirdo Darren again?

Glee - Ahh, Glee. A show set about 1.5 hours west of here in Lima, Ohio. So, Quinn gave her baby and if the previews mean anything, it looks like she is going jump back in the no-sex-zone with Finn, probably leaving Rachel to hook up with a new character. Hopefully, Kurt will see some actual guy action although I did just rewatch the episode where he makes out with Brittany in his basement. I'm looking forward to the Britney episode (really, are you even surprised?) and this Beiste character who will rival Sue Sylvester. Here's a link to a new preview. Did you hear Gaga in it?

Modern Family - I absolutely love this show and can rewatch the episodes over and over to find something I missed the first time. It's amazing and beyond well written because both the BF and I laugh out loud at the damn TV. Phil is my favorite, followed by Cameron and Mitchell (yes together) and then Manny. Who doesn't love a very serious and adorable kid?

Parenthood - I started watching this show mid way through and picked up the rest of the episodes online. I really love Lauren Graham so she kept me interested in the whole show. It's a family drama but much more serious than Modern Family.

Desperate Housewives - I started way back when with this show and it's part of my Sunday night routine. I can't give up on these housewives now! I follow it up with Brothers & Sisters and the BF won't watch either of these with me. He can normally be heard saying, "This is the worst acting ever," in regards to the Housewives and "why is everyone yelling" when I watch Brothers & Sisters.

Law & Order: SVU - Ahhhh, Benson and Stabler. I still don't know how after all these years they've never hooked up.

So, those are just a few of the shows I DVR on a weekly basis. It gets to the point where we are both DVRing the shows at the same time. I'm spoiled with the DVR and hate watching the shows live - I like to wait about 14 minutes and then start the show to fast forward through commercials.

One week of sun, 88 degree weather, sand, mojitos and friends. (Well, I'm hoping for sun because right now there is a 30 percent chance of rain every day, but that's beside the point.)

Getting chills just thinking about it!

I rarely take a whole week off from work. I like to spread out my vacation days by taking a Friday off here and there and especially during the holidays. Needless to say, I'm looking forward to a whole week without email, Facebook, FourSquare, Twitter and blogging.

Because I'll be out of normal range with my cell phone, I'm not upgrading my coverage to include the beautiful country of Mexico. I'm taking a week off from social media.

Yep, that's right, I'm taking a whole week without my Twitter and Facebook apps, my Google reader and, more importantly, my iPhone that is normally glued to my hip. Are you wondering if I can do it?

I'm so incredibly connected and I need a break. I think we all do at some point. If you are a stalker, you know where I check in on FourSquare and what I did this past weekend with all of my friends because I'm always connected. It can become complete overload and I just need a little decompression time.

So, for one whole week, I won't be able to follow the New York Times for instant news updates or monitor whatever blogger is having a conniption online or see funny twitpics from my many friends.

I'll be living in the present with my friends and boyfriend for seven days. I am excited and I can't wait.

Because he thought it "was only right" that I shared my singing-in-the-shower videos, I thought it "was only right" to tape what I had to listen to this week while he was working.

I love that we have a separate office space now in our house. When we lived in the apartment, we only had the dining room area to work and both had to utilize that space. It wasn't easy to get work done there because it connected directly with the living room.

So, on this random week night, the BF is upstairs in the office working away, blaring my iTunes from my ancient computer and belting out part of the lyrics. He thinks my music sucks. Phrases often heard from him: "You have no taste in music. Who ARE half of these people? You have....techno? Lots of techno!"

For all those times you made fun of my music catalog, apparently you really did like some of the music after all, huh?

About

Allison is a 32 year-old young professional living in downtown Cleveland. Lover of all things fashion, sparkles, pop culture and dirty martinis with blue cheese stuffed olives who speaks at a very fast rate with a slight Cleveland accent.